Society's Child

Russia's chief whistleblower wants to jail the corrupt

Miriam Elder
The Guardian
Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:32 UTC

Website has tracked down £2.6m in alleged government fraud, and volunteers examine state tenders for evidence

Alexey Navalny leaps out of his chair and draws five black circles on a whiteboard. The circles represent players in Russia's multibillion-dollar oil industry. With boundless energy and lightning speed, he draws lines and connects the dots, telling the story of what he calls classic Russian corruption.

In Russia, this is not done - at least not publicly. Navalny is speaking in a country that has seen its greatest government critics jailed, exiled and killed. But the 34-year-old lawyer, smart, self-confident and apparently fearless, has made a career of going after Russia's untouchables. As Russia's chief whistleblower - a one-man WikiLeaks - he has focused in the past three years on using the law to obtain information from the infamously secretive state-run corporations that fuel the country's economy and line the pockets of its highest officials.

"Everyone says corruption is everywhere, but for me it seems strange to say that and then not try to put the people guilty of that corruption away," Navalny said during an interview at his central Moscow office, adorned with little but stacks of papers and a gleaming silver MacBook.

For now, that is not his goal. Instead, he has focused on exposing the insidious corruption that even Russia's leaders acknowledge is the country's biggest problem.

Indian trade unions rally over food prices

The Associated Press
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:26 UTC

Tens of thousands of trade unionists marched through the capital yesterday in protest at high food prices and corruption.

At least 40,000 people took part, according to Delhi police, though organisers put the number at about 100,000. Marchers came from trade unions linked both with the opposition Communist Party and with the governing Congress Party.

4,500 Chinese escape Libya by sea, Americans stuck

Associated Press
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:08 UTC

Foreigners escape Libya and disclose accounts of the "frightening situation" describing the violent scenes they witnessed

Two ships braved churning seas Thursday to whisk 4,500 Chinese workers away from strife-torn Libya to the island of Crete, while rough weather further west left hundreds of Americans stranded on a ferry in Tripoli.

As tens of thousands of foreigners sought to flee the turmoil in Libya, Britain pondered whether to send in its military to evacuate oil workers stranded in remote sites by fierce fighting in the North African nation.

Those who made it out of Libya described a frightening scene - with bodies hanging from electricity poles in Libya's eastern port of Benghazi and militia trucks driving around loaded up with dead bodies. One video showed a tank apparently crushing a car with people inside.

EU bracing for exodus of asylum seekers

Ivan Camilleri
Times of Malta
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 08:21 UTC

Frontex, the EU border agency, has been given instructions to start preparing for a possible unprecedented influx of immigrants and asylum seekers fleeing Libya towards the EU, particularly through Malta and Lampedusa.

The EU is " very concerned" about the possible exodus of some 750,000 Libyan citizens and sub-Saharan Africans from the country towards Europe as a result of the turmoil, according to European Commission sources.

The sources said Frontex, the EU's border agency, was working on a plan involving all 27 member states to be put into action in case this exodus starts.

" We all know there is the potential of a massive exodus of asylum seekers from Libya and the fact that certain parts of the country now seem to be out of control may accelerate this influx," a Commission source said.

Iran's president: Mideast upheaval will reach US

Ali Akbar Dareini
Associated Press
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 07:33 UTC

© Associated Press/Vahid Salemi)
A cameraman films Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's car, as it is displayed at an auto show for auction for a charity in the city of Abadan, 600 miles (1000 kilometers) southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011. Iran's populist president is putting his 33-year-old Peugeot up for auction for a charity that funds housing projects for young people. Ahmadinejad's move is seen as a bid to appeal to the young and attract attention to housing projects he espoused during his campaigns, promising to put a roof over the head of every poor Iranian.

Tehran, Iran - Iran's president said Wednesday he is certain the wave of unrest in the Middle East will spread to Europe and North America, bringing an end to governments he accused of oppressing and humiliating people.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose own country resorted to violence to disperse an opposition rally earlier this month, also condemned Libya's use of force against demonstrators, calling it "grotesque."

Iran's hard-line leaders have sought to claim some credit for the uprisings in Arab nations, saying they are evidence that its 1979 Islamic Revolution, which ousted the U.S.-backed shah, is being replayed.

Mystery behind two Libyan fighter jets landing in Malta, revealed

Xeni Jardin
Boing Boing
Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:23 UTC

AP reports that two Libyan air force jets arrived in Malta today. Military officials say their pilots have asked for political asylum amid a bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters in Libya, in which air force pilots were ordered to fire on civilian demonstrators (see previous BB post). Apparently, these pilots refused to follow those orders.

Above: a Libyan airforce pilot walks next to his Mirage F1 fighter jet after landing at Malta International Airport outside Valletta today.

Two Libyan fighter jets and two civilian helicopters landed unexpectedly. The office of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said at the time it was not clear whether the two fighter pilots intended to ask for asylum - they later did. They initially had asked to refuel. (REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi)

World Slams Gaddafi Brutal Crackdown

Press TV
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 06:09 UTC

The Libyan regime is facing growing international condemnation over its brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters as the death toll from the country's revolution climbs.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Wednesday that the 27-member bloc has decided to suspend talks with Libya on the EU-Libya Framework Agreement and promised to "take further measures" in response to the brutal violence against Libyan civilians.

The UN Security Council has also condemned Libya's deadly crackdown on the pro-democracy protesters and demanded an immediate end to the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations against Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi's regime and expressed "deep regret for the death of hundreds of civilians."

Libyan protesters closing in on Tripoli

Press TV
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:48 UTC

The Libyan government vigilantes and snipers struggle to regain control of the capital after pro-Gaddafi forces lost several cities to revolutionary protesters.

Reports say the revolution flag is now flying over Tajuraa city close to Tripoli. The western cities of Zwaara and Azzawiya are also under the control of the protesters.

This comes as more and more soldiers are now joining the popular revolution.

Anti-government protesters have also overrun the eastern province of Cyrenaica. This follows the fall of the second largest city of Benghazi.

Soldiers in the coastal town of Tobruk say Gaddafi's forces have lost control of the region. They say they no longer back the Libyan ruler. Tobruk lies close to the Egyptian border.

Malta denied entry to Gaddafi daughter

Press TV
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:41 UTC

A plane possibly carrying Gaddafi's daughter has been refused a permission to land and was sent back to Libya after flying over Malta in an unscheduled flight, reports say.

Malta International Airport denied landing rights to a Libyan Arab Airlines aircraft, reported to be carrying Libyan tyrant Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's daughter, Ayesha, on Wednesday.

The plane circled for 20 minutes before heading back to Libya, Reuters reported.

A plane carrying several family members and Gaddafi's wife to her home country of Lebanon was also denied a landing permission.

The pilot of the ATR42 turboprop aircraft provided the airport with details from a previous flight, supposed to have landed in Malta on Tuesday, reports said.

Ahmadinejad condemns civilian killings in Libya

Indo-Asian News
Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:28 UTC

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has condemned the killing of protesters in Libya and called on the Libyan government to respect the people's will. Demands for change shaking the Middle East would end the oppression of "arrogant" powers and would reach other continents like Europe or America,
unless discrimination and military occupation ended, he predicted.

"Instead of killing people, listen to them," Ahmadinejad said in comments aired on state television. He did not mention Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi by name.

"How is it possible that a state leader uses bombers, tanks and cannons to kill his own people and afterwards warns that whoever says something will be killed. That is really ugly," Ahmadinejad added.

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Society's Child

Russia's chief whistleblower wants to jail the corrupt

Indian trade unions rally over food prices

4,500 Chinese escape Libya by sea, Americans stuck

EU bracing for exodus of asylum seekers

Iran's president: Mideast upheaval will reach US

Mystery behind two Libyan fighter jets landing in Malta, revealed

World Slams Gaddafi Brutal Crackdown

Libyan protesters closing in on Tripoli

Malta denied entry to Gaddafi daughter

Ahmadinejad condemns civilian killings in Libya

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